Method and agent for the bioremediation of petroleum in an aquatic environment

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a bioremediation agent and method of bioremediation of an oil spill are disclosed. The bioremediation agent contains oil-digesting bacteria and bacterial nutrients in a buoyant water semi-insoluble and biodegradable casein product. The bioremediation agent may be distributed by boats or seeded by aircraft to remediate oil from coastlines after an oil spill.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application incorporates by reference and claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/393,867 entitled “METHODAND AGENT FOR THE BIOREMEDIATION OF PETROLEUM IN AN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT”filed on Oct. 15, 2010 by inventor John Peter Fuhrer.

FIELD

Aspects of the invention generally relate to a method and a compositionof matter for removing petroleum. More specifically, aspects of theinvention relate to a method and a composition of matter for oil removalutilizing an oil-digesting bacteria combined with a nutrient source in abiodegradable product capable of being distributed over a large targetarea.

BACKGROUND

Petroleum is ubiquitous to the modern age. Petroleum is directly used asa fuel source e.g. oil, natural gas, and gasoline or indirectly used inproducts such as plastics, tar, and asphalt. In a global economy wherecommodities and products must be transported thousands of miles fromtheir source to market, fossil fuels are an important natural resource.

Global petroleum usage usually increases each year. Most of the globalpetroleum consumption is concentrated in developed countries such as theUnited States, Japan, and Germany. Consumption in developing countrieswith large manufacturing bases such as China and India is increasing ata rapid rate. China, with its large population and growing middle classhas surpassed Japan as the world's second largest consumer of petroleumproducts.

Although the U.S., China, and Japan are presently the three largestconsumers of oil, they do not produce all of the oil they consume. Someof the oil consumed in these nations is imported. Oil production in mostdeveloped countries is falling. A large percentage of the world's provenoil reserves are located in the Middle East. Thus, with demandincreasing and local supply of oil dwindling, it is likely that consumernations will continue to import large quantities of oil in the future.

The widespread use of petroleum has many harmful side effects. Air,ground, and water pollution have caused the extinction of numerousspecies of plants and animals. Many petroleum by-products are alsocarcinogenic. The burning of petroleum as a fuel source has increasedatmospheric carbon dioxide, leading to a green house effect and globalwarming. Besides the expected harmful aspects, widespread petroleumusage also leads to inevitable accidents. With billions of barrelsextracted and transported annually, oils spills occur frequently.

Oil spills in the worlds oceans, are the inevitable result of theextraction and transportation of vast quantities of oil. Oil spillsresulting from the grounding of an oil tanker or an explosion aboard anoffshore oil rig, may cause hundred of millions of dollars in loss tothe local fishing and tourism industries. Oil spills can also result inlong term ecological damage to coastal areas where they occur.

Oil spills occurring in or near a body of water are difficult to containand cleanup. Tides and currents spread spilled oil over a large areamaking containment difficult. Inclement weather may also make deployingbooms or other barriers difficult. Cleanup is further inhibited due tothe sensitive habitats in or adjacent to water. For instance, plants andanimals inhabiting coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, marshes andmangroves are extremely sensitive to pollution and may die off quicklybefore a cleanup response can be initiated. Furthermore, coastal waterscontain vast numbers of drifting plankton composed of fish eggs andlarvae at the bottom of the food chain. These are often killed by toxicoil compounds and dispersants. Alternatively, plankton may be caught inoil tar balls and become inedible to fish.

Although more can be done to prevent oil spills into a body of waterfrom occurring in the first place, oil spills are going to occur as longas the world depends on petroleum as a main source of fuel. So long ascars run on gasoline and airplanes require jet fuel, there exists a needfor an effective way to remove oil quickly and efficiently from ouroceans with low impact on the environment.

Known methods of cleaning an oil spill in water generally rely on boomsto contain the spill, followed by burning or skimming to remove thespilled oil. However, booms may be ineffective due to inclement weather.Burning the oil causes air pollution. Skimming the oil is labor andequipment intensive.

Another method of cleaning an oil spill involves spraying chemicaldispersants on the surface oil. Dispersants may also be released at thesource of an underwater oil leak. The drawback of chemical dispersantuse is that the dispersants themselves are often toxic to plant andanimal life. Furthermore, use of dispersants may actually preventburning and skimming of the oil because the oil is no longer insufficient concentration to be skimmed or burned.

Thus what is needed are methods and agents for cleaning oil spills thatare more effective and environmentally friendly. The desired agentscould be deployed over sensitive eco-systems quickly and relativelyinexpensively.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The embodiments of the invention are best summarized by the claims thatfollow below. However, briefly, in accordance with aspects ofembodiments of the invention a bioremediation agent and methods ofpetroleum remediation using said agent are disclosed. The bioremediationagent includes oil-digesting bacteria suspended in a biodegradableproduct with nutrients. The bioremediation agent is deployed to aid inthe cleanup of an oil spill.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1A is a magnified top view of an embodiment of the inventionillustrating a product including oil-digesting bacteria.

FIGS. 1B-1C are magnified cross-sectional views of the product of FIG.1A to better illustrate the micro-pores included therein.

FIG. 1D is a magnified top view of an alternate embodiment of theinvention illustrating a product including oil-digesting bacteria.

FIG. 2A is an illustration of various embodiments of the invention beingused at different water depths.

FIG. 2B is a side view an embodiment of the invention dispersed atdifferent concentrations.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of different methods of deploying anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary spill response illustrating amethod of using the invention.

The figures are not drawn to scale so that elements, features, andsurface structure may be shown by example and are intended merely to beillustrative and non-limiting of the aspects of the invention that areclaimed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This detailed description describes exemplary implementations that areillustrative of aspects of the invention, and so it is explanatory andnot limiting. The claims define inventive aspects. In the drawings, someelements have been omitted to more clearly show inventive aspects.

Introduction

Oil-digesting bacteria (may also be referred to as oil-eating bacteria)exist in nature. They are normally found in soil especially near surfacelevel petroleum such as tar pits. An oil spill occurring on land can bequickly contained and cleaned. Residual oil will eventually be digestedby naturally occurring oil-digesting bacteria in the soil.

Unfortunately, catastrophic oil spills also occur in aquatic regions. Anaquatic oil spill generally spreads at a rapid rate due to currents andtides. Sensitive habitats such as fish hatcheries, delicate wetlands,estuaries, tourist havens and fishing grounds are often near an oilspill. Therefore, it is desirable to clean up aquatic oil spills rapidlyand with minimal impact to the surrounding area.

Aquatic oil spills may also cause more damage because the naturallyexisting oil-digesting bacteria are not concentrated in water. The oceanis not ideally suited for bacterial growth. Cold temperatures, lack ofnutrients, and constant agitation from wind and tidal motion tend toinhibit bacteria growth. Thus, naturally occurring oil-digestingbacteria will likely be in low concentration and in isolated patches,for example, near underwater oil seeps in the sea floor. Engineeredoil-digesting bacteria may be formed to digest oil but may be lessfavorable to use due to potential unpredicted environmentalconsequences.

Bioremediation Agent

A bioremediation agent and methods of petroleum remediation using saidagent are disclosed. Bioremediation has been used successfully tomitigate previous oil spills. However, the distribution of oil-digestingbacteria has been difficult to control to ensure that the bacteriaremain in contact with the oil. Improving the contact betweenoil-digesting bacteria and oil is one of the goals of the embodiments ofthe invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, an embodiment of a bioremediation agent 100 isillustrated. The bioremediation agent 100, a composition of matter,includes a product 110, oil-digesting bacteria or bacterium 120,bacterial nutrients 130, one or more air pockets or bubbles 140, andmicro-pores 150. The oil-digesting bacterium 120 digests oil when itmakes contact with the oil of an oil spill received in the micro-poresand at the perimeter of the agent 100. The bioremediation agent 100 maybe deployed at a target site where an oil spill has occurred to digestthe oil and clean up the spilled oil.

The product 110 is biodegradable, non-toxic, semi-insoluble, and easilymanufactured. The air pockets or bubbles 140 may be suspended in theproduct 110 to aid in buoyancy and float the bioremediation agent 100near oil located at the water surface. Micropores 150 throughout theproduct 110 allow oil to be absorbed into the agent 100 so that it is incloser contact with the oil-digesting bacteria 120. Alternatively,incorporation into agent 100 of an inert material with a specificgravity greater than water (e.g., sand, silt, mud, sediment) may be usedto sink the bioremediation agent to oil located below the surface of thewater. Also suspended in the product 110 are the oil-digesting bacterium120 and the bacterial nutrient 130. The bacterial nutrient 130 is usedto promote reproduction of the bacterium 120 so more oil may bedigested.

In one embodiment of the invention, the product 110 is a casein product.Casein is a water soluble biodegradable protein found in mammalian milk.When in milk, casein occurs as a suspension of particles calledmicelles. A typical micelle in aqueous solution forms an aggregate withthe hydrophilic “head” regions in contact with surrounding solvent,sequestering the hydrophobic tail regions in the micelle center.

Casein may be isolated from milk by several methods. Casein can beprecipitated from milk by an enzymatic method or by a mild acidtreatment method, for example.

However, it is desirable to make proteins semi-insoluble in water sothat the product slowly dissolves in water over a predetermined periodof time so that the unused protein and bacteria are digested. Variousmethods may be used to produce semi-insoluble protein material that canbe formed into shapes and can be made to contain many types ofcomponents. One such method for casein protein is described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,379,726 issued to Peggy Tomasula on Apr. 30, 2002 and U.S. PatentApplication Pub. No. 2004/0018294 filed by Peggy Tomasula on Feb. 10,1999, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively,other methods may be used to link or cross-link proteins, such as by achemical approach, an aging approach, or some other molecule alignmentprocess so the protein molecules are aligned to resist being fullysoluble in water and allow a predetermined period of time for theoil-digesting bacteria to digest the oil before dissolving into waterand/or biodegrading.

The casein product 110 may be formed into any shape. In one embodimentof the invention the casein product 110 may take the shape of a flake.The flakes may be small, substantially flat, thin closed curve-likeshapes. Although the casein product 110 is described and illustrated asa flake, the scope of the invention covers other three dimensionalshapes that are regular or irregular, such as a rectangular wafer or anirregular spherical shaped particle for example.

Casein is biodegradable and non-toxic. In a semi-insoluble form, thecasein product 110 will eventually degrade or dissolve in water. Caseinproduct 110 deployed at a spill site will biodegrade without the needfor labor intensive cleaning. Unlike dispersants which are toxic tomarine life, casein is an edible milk protein and thus less likely toharm marine life that may contact or eat the casein.

While the product 110 has been described as being formed of caseinprotein, the product may be formed of other proteins, such as soyprotein, that may be made semi-insoluble and absorb or suspend theoil-digesting bacteria.

Referring now to FIGS. 1B-1C, magnified cross-section views of theproduct 110 are shown to better illustrate the micro-pores 150 formed inthe product 110. The micro-pores 150 are small channels or tunnelswithin the product extending from its exterior surface to interiorportions of the product 110. The micro-pores 150 increase the surfacearea of the product 110 where the oil-digesting bacteria 120 can makecontact with oil. As the exposed surfaces of the protein productdissolve due to being semi-soluble or semi-insoluble, freshoil-digesting bacterial may be exposed at the new surfaces to furtherdigest oil.

Oil-digesting bacteria 120 may be randomly spread throughout the proteinproduct 110 as shown in FIGS. 1A-1C in one embodiment of the invention.Alternatively, the oil-digesting bacteria 120 may be concentrated nearthe exposed surfaces and diffused into the interior portions in anotherembodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1D, a magnified top view of an alternateembodiment of the invention illustrating a product includingoil-digesting bacteria 120 is shown. In this case, the oil-digestingbacteria 120 is concentrated near the exposed surfaces of the productand diffused into the interior portions. The oil-digesting bacteria 120is concentrated around the perimeter or exterior surface of the proteinproduct 110 as shown by the shadowing. Further oil-digesting bacteria120 is concentrated around the walls of the micro-pores 150 as shown bythe thicker lines in the drawing. The concentration of the oil-digestingbacteria 120 diffuses to a lower concentration per area at pointsfurther away from the external surface. In this case, the proteinproduct 110 may be initially formed with micro-pores 150 and the airbubbles 140. The protein product 110 is then soaked in a bath ofoil-digesting bacteria 120 so that bacteria are absorbed and diffusedthrough the external surfaces into the interior of the product. As theexposed surfaces of the protein product dissolve due to beingsemi-soluble or semi-insoluble, fresh oil-digesting bacterial may beexposed at the new surfaces to further digest oil.

Petroleum oil is generally buoyant. Thus, during an oil spill much ofthe oil is found on the surface of the water. In one embodiment of theinvention, air pockets 140 may be formed in the casein product 110 toallow the bioremediation agent 100 to float at the same water level asthe oil spill. Keeping the bioremediation agent 100 in the generalproximity of the oil may be advantageous. Oil-digesting bacteria need tobe in contact with the oil in order to digest it. Furthermore, floatingat the surface allows the bioremediation agent 100 to travel with theoil spill into remote areas, such as into and around marsh grass stemsand mangrove roots, for example.

Currents and tides will move oil plumes. Oftentimes, this movement isdifficult to predict because of prevailing weather conditions. Resourcesto protect sensitive habitats may be deployed too late or deployed tothe wrong place because of unpredicted oil movement. Deploying booms intidal areas may also be difficult. Heavy winds and high tides may movebooms or even push the oil over the booms.

Furthermore, nature preserves and estuaries generally have limitedaccess. There are usually no roads leading into these delicateeco-systems. Once an oil spill reaches land, it may be difficult to sendworkers into remote areas to remove the oil residue e.g. tar-balls.Heavy equipment such as bulldozers and disposal trucks may not be ableto reach some areas. The use of heavy equipment may also scar thelandscape for years to come.

Fortunately, bioremediation agent 100 will generally follow the path ofthe oil plume. Bioremediation agent 100 distributed right at the sourceof an oil plume may drift with the plume because it is affected by thesame currents and tides. As the oil plume spreads towards shore anddifficult to reach estuaries, the bioremediation agent 100 will movewith the plume, so that the oil-digesting bacteria 120 may continue todigest the oil. Unlike booms and barriers, the bioremediation agent 100will be working before reaching coastal waters. The bioremediation agent100 is capable of floating into the more difficult to reach areas andmay continue to degrade the spilled oil with little intervention.

Although, the embodiment of the invention described above contains airpockets 140 to allow the bioremediation agent 100 to float at thesurface of the water, it may be possible to vary the buoyancy of theflake. After an oil spill, dispersants may be used in such large amountsthat oil particles remain suspended in the ocean below the surface.Underwater plumes of suspended oil can not be skimmed or burned. Varyingthe buoyancy of the casein product 110 may allow the bioremediationagent 100 to travel submerged in an underwater oil plume.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, an alternative embodiment of the invention isdepicted being deployed at different depths. In FIG. 2A, oil spill 220is floating on ocean surface 230 and encroaching on tourist haven 250.Bioremediation agent 100 may be air dropped onto surface oil spill 220before it reaches tourist haven 250. However, due to the widespread useof dispersants, submerged oil plumes 220A and 220B remain suspendedbelow the ocean surface. Submerged oil plumes 220A and 220B may not beskimmed or burned because they exist as clouds of tiny suspended oildroplets that move with underwater currents without surfacing.

In order to combat submerged oil plumes 220A and 220B, an inert materialwith a specific gravity greater than water (e.g., specific gravity offresh water in the case of an oil spill in fresh water or specificgravity of salt water in the case of an oil spill in salt water) may beused to sink the bioremediation agent 100 to reach oil located below thesurface of the water. Bioremediation agent 100A and 100B are alternativeembodiments of floating bioremediation agent 100 that sink to differentdepths of water. The buoyancy of bioremediation agent 100A may bealtered so that the bioremediation agent 100A is slightly denser thansurface temperature water. Generally, water is colder the deeper itgets. Colder water is denser than warm water, thus at some depth thebioremediation agent 100A reach it equivalent density and will stopsinking. Bioremediation agent 100B may be made relatively denser thanbioremediation agent 100A to sink to an even lower depth. Thesealternative embodiments may be created by adding to bioremediation agent100, an inert material with a specific gravity greater than water.Alternative embodiments of the bioremediation agent 100A and 100B may ormay not include air pockets 140 in their makeup to achieve a desiredbuoyancy and depth below the water surface.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, embodiments of the invention may be deployedat different concentrations upon the surface or in the depths below thesurface. FIG. 2B illustrates bioremediation agent 200C and 200D(instances of the bioremediation agent 100) deployed at a firstconcentration upon the surface of water. FIG. 2B illustratesbioremediation agent 200E through 200G (instances of the bioremediationagent 100) deployed at a second concentration upon the surface of waterthat is greater than the first concentration. An initial concentrationmay be estimated by how much of the bio-remedial agent is deployed in agiven area of an oil spill. Subsequent natural effects (e.g., waves,currents, wind,) and man made effects (e.g., boat wake, propeller wash,or machine stirring or dispersing) can disperse the bioremediation agentand reduce its concentration at the surface of water or at depths in thewater.

Referring now back to FIG. 1, also suspended in the casein product 110is oil-digesting bacteria 120. An example of oil-digesting bacteria 120is Pseudomonas putida. Although this bacterium is listed by name, theinvention should not be considered as being limited to using only thisbacterium. Other types of oil-digesting bacteria 120 may be used.

The oil-digesting bacteria 120 may be found in nature. However theconcentration of oil-digesting bacteria 120 in nature is generally low.Oil-digesting bacteria 120 generally are found in areas where there isnaturally occurring oil, such as underwater seepage or near pools ofsurface oil such as tar pits. However, even at these naturally occurringlocations where oil-digesting bacteria are found, the concentration isgenerally too low to digest significant amounts of oil.

Like most bacteria, oil-digesting bacteria generally multiply whennutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus are available. However,nutrients are generally limited in quantity in a marine environment.Competition from plants for nitrogen and phosphorus e.g. fertilizer alsokeeps nutrient quantities low.

Simply, adding fertilizer to the ocean to stimulate oil-digestingbacteria growth may have limited effects and unintended consequences. Ahigh concentration of fertilizer may not be capable of being maintainedat the oil spill site. The ocean is a vast body of water. Chemicalsdissolved in the ocean tend to dilute quickly. Adding more fertilizer toan oil spill site to offset dilution may cause eutrophication, anincrease in nutrients which results in an increase in the growth of theprimary producers at the bottom of the food chain.

Generally the increase of a nutrient, such as nitrogen, promotes therapid growth of simple algae and plankton over more complicated plants.Algae, plankton and the marine animals dependent on algae and planktonas a food source eventually die out because they cannot compete. Theresulting decrease in bio-diversity is undesirable. Furthermore, certainalgae produce biotoxins which may be taken up the food chain byshellfish and cause food poisoning. The rapid growth of algae orplankton blooms is unsustainable and the eventual die-off of the algaemay cause anoxia. The decaying algae uses up dissolved oxygen until fishand other marine animals suffocate.

Sufficient levels of nutrient may be maintained at the oil spill sitewithout promoting eutrophication by controlling and targeting therelease of the nutrients. The nutrient 130 is suspended in caseinproduct 110 in proximity with the oil-digesting bacteria 120 to supportgrowth and proliferation of the oil-digesting bacteria suspended withinthe product without excessive algae growth. The suspended nutrient 130also will not dilute as swiftly when the bioremediation agent 100 issubmerged in water. As the casein product 110 is slowly solubilized bywater, the nutrient 130 is released in a controlled manner in closeproximity to the oil-digesting bacteria 120.

Naturally occurring oil-digesting bacteria also may be selected as theoil-digesting bacteria 120 for specific properties. For example, anoil-digesting bacteria 120 more resistant to cold temperatures may beobtained from cold regions such as Alaska for deployment at ocean depthswhere the water is colder.

Method of Delivery

The invention may be deployed to aid in the cleanup of an oil spill byaerial dispersal, distributed by ship, or even by hand. Use of aerialdispersal may be preferred in remote areas where ships may take days orweeks to respond to an oil spill. However, the use of ships may bepreferred where large quantities of the bioremediation agent 100 may berequired.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an illustration of methods for deployingbioremediation agent 100 is shown. In one method of deployment, anaircraft 310 (e.g., airplane, helicopter, airship, balloon) is showndropping bioremediation agent 100 onto oil spill 320 at the surface ofthe ocean 330. In another method, a ship 340 is shown dispersingbioremediation agent 100 by propelling the bioremediation agent 100 ontothe oil spill 320. Although the bioremediation agent 100 is shown beingpropelled over the side of the ship 340, a simpler method of droppingthe bioremediation agent over the side of ship 340, such as by aspreading mechanism or by hand, can achieve similar results. One or moreof these and other methods of deploying the bioremediation agent 100 maybe used together or individually on oil spills.

In FIG. 3, a sensitive eco-system 350 is endangered by the encroachingoil spill 320. Aircraft 310 may drop bioremediation agent 100 directlyon the sensitive eco-system 350. Alternatively, bioremediation agent 100may be manually applied onto the sensitive eco-system 350 from land,such as by hand, wheeled spreaders (e.g., a fertilizer spreader), dumptrucks or spreading trucks. Bioremediation agent 100 is moreenvironmentally friendly than chemical dispersants and will biodegrade,thus deploying bioremediation agent 100 directly onto the sensitiveeco-system 350 is a viable option.

Methods of deployment may require consideration of several factors, suchas type of spill, location of the spill, and amount of the spill. Forexample, larger spills closer to shore may be more efficiently cleanedusing shipboard deployment of the bioremediation agent 100.

Aerial dispersal over wide areas may be accomplished with equipmentsimilar to that used for dispersing flame retardants. A low flying fixedwing aircraft 310 or helicopter may be used to accurately targetdispersal areas. Aircraft 310 may be capable of deploying thebioremediation agent 100 to remote areas not readily accessible tovehicles or by foot. Furthermore, aircraft may be capable of reaching atarget site faster than other dispersal methods, possibly preventing ormitigating harm to sensitive eco-systems 350.

Incident Response

Referring now to FIG. 4, an incident response flow chart 400 is showndetailing a method of using the bioremediation agent 100. The flow chart400 lists the main actions to be taken in the event of an oil spill oran oil leak.

In process block 410, an incident commander should first stop the sourceof the oil leak if possible. Actions such as capping a leaking well ordraining a grounded tanker may be necessary to stop the source of thespill from adding additional oil to the spill. In some circumstances itmay not be feasible to completely stop an oil leak and the incidentcommander may need to move onto the next step of the response plan whileconcurrently continuing attempts to block or stop the source. Theprocess then goes to process block 420.

At process block 420, the oil spill is accessed. Considerations such asamount of the spill, type of oil released (e.g., heavy crude, lightcrude, natural gases etc.), area of the spill, and location of the spillmay be used to calculate an appropriate response involvingbioremediation agent 100 and or other oil containment/removal methods.If deployment of bioremediation agent 100 is considered a viable option,the process continues to process block 440. If deployment ofbioremediation agent 100 is not an option, the spill may be contained ina different manner and the process goes to process block 430.

At process block 430, assuming the bioremediation agent 100 is not goingto be deployed, an alternative spill response plan is enacted to containthe oil spill.

At process block 440, assuming the bioremediation agent 100 is to bedeployed, the boundary of the spill is determined. Observation byaircraft will likely be needed for large spills covering multiple squaremiles. Once the boundary is determined, the process may go to processblock 450.

At process block 450, the appropriate means of deploying thebioremediation agent 100 is decided. The deployment method (e.g., byair, ship, or foot) is responsive to the observations and the decisionsmade previously at process blocks 420, 440. Factors such as size ofspill, spill vicinity to sensitive eco-systems or tourist havens, speedand direction of currents may be considered when deciding on the meansof deployment. The process then goes to process block 460.

At process block 460, the bioremediation agent 100 is deployed by thechosen method or methods. The process then goes to process block 470.

At process block 470, an evaluation is performed to determine theeffectiveness of the method of deployment and the bioremediation agent100 at digesting the oil spill. The incident commander may evaluate ifthe spill was sufficiently covered. In areas where the spill is densest,more bioremediation agent 100 may be needed. If the deployment of thebioremediation agent 100 was insufficient or ineffective, the processreturns to process block 460 to deploy additional bioremediation agent100 by the same or different method of deployment. If the bioremediationagent 100 is effective, the process goes to process block 480 and ends.

A processor of a computer with a storage device coupled thereto may beused to execute instructions stored in the storage device to perform orcause to perform, the one or more of the processes of the incidentresponse to the oil spill.

CONCLUSION

While this specification includes many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the disclosure or of what maybe claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific toparticular implementations of the disclosure. Certain features that aredescribed in this specification in the context of separateimplementations may also be implemented in combination in a singleimplementation. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single implementation may also be implemented in multipleimplementations, separately or in sub-combination. Moreover, althoughfeatures may be described above as acting in certain combinations andeven initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimedcombination may in some cases be excised from the combination, and theclaimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variationsof a sub-combination. Accordingly, the claimed invention is limited onlyby the claims that follow below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bioremediation agent for dissolving oilscomprising: a biodegradable non-toxic semi-insoluble protein havingmicro-pores spread throughout to absorb oil; oil-digesting bacteriasuspended in the biodegradable non-toxic semi-insoluble protein, theoil-digesting bacteria to digest the absorbed oil; and nutrientssuspended in the biodegradable non-toxic semi-insoluble protein, thenutrients to support growth and proliferation of the oil-digestingbacteria suspended within the biodegradable non-toxic semi-insolubleprotein.
 2. The bioremediation agent of claim 1, wherein thebiodegradable non-toxic semi-insoluble protein is semi-insoluble casein.3. The bioremediation agent of claim 1, wherein the biodegradablenon-toxic semi-insoluble protein is semi-insoluble soy.
 4. Thebioremediation agent of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality ofpockets of gas suspended in the biodegradable non-toxic semi-insolubleprotein adapted to buoy the bioremediation agent towards a surface ofwater.
 5. The bioremediation agent of claim 4, wherein the gas is one ormore of air, helium, hydrogen, oxygen, methane, and ammonia.
 6. Thebioremediation agent of claim 1, further comprising: inert material witha specific gravity greater than water suspended within the biodegradablenon-toxic semi-insoluble protein to adjust the buoyancy of thebioremediation agent down away from a surface of water.
 7. Thebioremediation agent of claim 4, wherein the water is salt water in anocean.
 8. A bioremediation agent for dissolving oils comprising: porousparticles of biodegradable non-toxic semi-insoluble protein to absorboil; oil-digesting bacteria suspended in the biodegradable non-toxicsemi-insoluble protein particles, the oil-digesting bacteria to digestthe absorbed oil; and nutrients suspended in the biodegradable non-toxicsemi-insoluble protein particles, the nutrients to support growth andproliferation of the oil-digesting bacteria suspended within thebiodegradable non-toxic semi-insoluble protein particles.
 9. Thebioremediation agent of claim 8, wherein the biodegradable non-toxicsemi-insoluble protein particles are semi-insoluble casein.
 10. Thebioremediation agent of claim 8, wherein the biodegradable non-toxicsemi-insoluble protein particles are semi-insoluble soy.
 11. Thebioremediation agent of claim 8, further comprising: a plurality ofpockets of gas suspended in the biodegradable non-toxic semi-insolubleprotein adapted to buoy the bioremediation agent towards a surface ofwater.
 12. The bioremediation agent of claim 11, wherein the gas is oneor more of air, helium, hydrogen, oxygen, methane, and ammonia.
 13. Thebioremediation agent of claim 8, further comprising: inert material witha specific gravity greater than water suspended within the biodegradablenon-toxic semi-insoluble protein, the inert material to adjust thebuoyancy of the bioremediation agent down away from a surface of water.